EDC started drilling at Mt. Kanlaon zone on Negros
Alexander Richter
20 May 2009
EDC started drilling at Mt. Kanlaon zone, to provide Negros with its much-needed power supply between the last quarter of next year, or early 2011.
Reported locally, “The Energy Development Corp. expects to provide Negros with its much-needed power supply between the last quarter of next year, or early 2011, a company official said.
Gino de la Cruz, resident manager of the Northern Negros Geothermal Production Plant, yesterday said they have already started drilling work at the Mt. Kanlaon buffer zone.
EDC is constructing five geothermal drilling wells at the buffer zone, which they expect to generate 25 to 30 megawatts, to compliment the 9 to 10 megawatts being produced by its geothermal power plant, situated outside the buffer zone.
The NNGPP plant, which supplying power to Iloilo, resumed its operations March 13 after almost 10 months of cleaning operations.
De la Cruz said that if NNGPP supplies power to Central Negros Electric Cooperative, the line losses will only be minimal.
Negros Occidental is suffering from almost daily hour-long brownouts because of power shortage, the National Transmission Corp. said. Transco records show that Negros island consumes 200 megawatts of power, with Palimpinon Geothermal Power Plant in Negros Oriental, producing only 170 megawatts.
De la Cruz said they are on-target in their civil work at the Kanlaon buffer zone, and have even posted a two-week advance in the drilling operations.
The Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Western Visayas had earlier cleared EDC of claims that it is behind the alleged contamination of water in Sitio Gayas, Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia.”
Source: Visayan Daily Star
